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Alexander "Boss" Gibson was born near St. Andrews on August 1st, 1819. A poor country boy with a simple education Alexanders first job was as a sawyer at a sawmill in Milltown. Blessed with a strong intellect and keen business sense Alexander soon became owner of the mill. By 1862 Gibson sold his mill and began his journey towards becoming a lumber baron when he purchased a mill and 7000 acres of land in the Nashwaak area. Over the next few decades he continued to expand his empire by buying out smaller mills and gaining control of their lumber leases. Gibson married Mary Robinson and together they had ten children. With his new found fortune Gibson established the town of Maryville which is located near Fredericton, and which was named for his wife. Although physically imposing at six feet six inches Gibson was well known for being fair with his employees. He also gave generously to local churches and other charities. A humble man Gibson turned down the opportunity to be knighted.

In 1870 Gibson and other local business men began construction of the New Brunswick Railway line from Gibson(Maryville) through Fredericton and eventually onto Edmundston. The line not only gave Gibson a faster more reliable way to transport his lumber products to market but also as part of the agreement to build the line the Government promised to provide the railway 10,000 acres of land for each mile of track opened. The line was completed in 1878 and the over 1.6 million acres of crown land were allotted to the Railway. By 1882 Gibson had sold his stake in the Railway for $800,000 after a dispute arose over which railway gauge to use on the line, Narrow or Standard gauge. As he continued to expand his lumber empire Gibson branched out into other areas including building a cotton mill in 1885.

In 1884 Gibson and another lumber baron Senator Jabez Snowball began constructing another railway line. Gibson invested in the new railway for the same reason that he had invested in the New Brunswick Railway line. The new line would provide an efficient way to move his lumber products to market. This line known later as the Canada Eastern line was completed in 1887. The line ran from Fredericton up along the Miramichi River to Chatham. Gibson was also involved in the Fredericton and St. Mary's Bridge Company which built a bridge across the St. John River in 1888 to connect the Canada Eastern line with Fredericton. Gibson seems to have been a man who would hold a grudge. When Snowball was voted to replace Gibson as the head of the railway company, Gibson refused to ship bails of cotton from his mill on the line for an entire year.

Sadly financial difficulties eventually caught up to Gibson and he died a poor man on August 13th, 1913.